Dead World
by jrob
Summary: Not really a fan fic, more my own work in the Zombie genre. Three days after the world becomes feral Jackson, unaware of what has been going on, is rescued by Skye and her group of survivors. This is the first excerpt.


"You don't really have a choice. You follow our rules or you're out on the street, plain and simple." She stared him down with cold eyes as the others exchanged looks amongst themselves.

"So you'd stay here and die?" Jackson asked firmly.

She approached him quickly, striding three steps and pinning him to the door. "You listen to me, you little shit. You go out there and you try to find help, safety, shelter, food that is farther than this town, the place you know and are familiar with, and you are dead. Safety is staying put. Safety is creating your own safe ground where _you _have the advantage. This is _my_home court. I've created this place to keep people alive and the minute you fuck with that is the second I push you over that balcony and _you_fend for yourself, jockboy.

She gave him a final shove that felt like a boulder and turned her back to him.

"You were asleep for the first two days of this hell. You fattened yourself up on self pity and ignorance and you expect to come in here and take over?" She turned her eyes on him again watching him rub the spot where she pushed him, "This is _my _family. These people are protected by me and mine - so far we've lost no one. I intend to keep it that way. I'll kill you before you put these people in harm's way."

With that she stormed off to the back of the apartment leaving him pinned by the others' stares. Some followed her leave while others went back to their rooms; when Jackson sat back down he found, though, he wasn't alone. An older man with flaming red hair who sat in an armchair in the corner, remained staring at him. His piercing blue eyes laid on him as he leaned back in his chair trying to ignore the old man with a silence that he hoped would give off a vibe that he wasn't in the mood for more ridicule. The silenced stretched as the man reached into his breast pocket and took out a pouch; the sound of laughter a ways off rang in Jackson's ears.

"You really pissed her off." the man finally spoke breaking the crisp silence.

Jackson nodded slowly, "Seems that way."

The man took a small amount of brown chew from the pouch and held it between his thumb and forefinger, "You always try to assume command in all the situations you encounter?"

Jackson felt a fool, hearing this man admit his flaw out loud, and took it as a insult - the man wanted to fight, too. He looked at him, trying to gauge him but found him grinning a snaggletooth grin, laughing quietly. "I guess I do."

"A good quality to have when the situation calls for a leader, but you start stepping on toes in all the other cases. You done stomped on her foot, boy. Really pissed her off."

"I'm aware." Jackson sighed and slumped back into the chair. A spring from the chair stabbed him in the back but he didn't move from his defeated position, this lone spring was the least of his troubles.

"The name's Renquist. The kids call me Pap and the other's call me Ren." He reached a hand across to Jackson and held it out for him to shake. "I'm the only welcome wagon you're gonna get."

"Jackson." he leaned forward and took Ren's hand, "This place always so chipper?"

"Times have changed, friend. All those old enough to fight are too tired most the time to smile and be friendly, and the little ones are kept separate so as not to frighten them." Renquist stuck the lump between his fingers in his mouth between his bottom teeth and lip. "Don't mind this. It's not safe, for many reasons, to smoke and unfortunately I'm the kind that can't quit."

Renquist laughed to himself and gave a suck on his chew.

"How did you all get to be here?" Jackson leaned closer to Renquist, "And do all this so quickly?"

"That'd be all on Skye and Max." he licked on of his fingers and moved the lump in his mouth a little with his tongue, "They both managed to get here and gather supplies before things got to be the way they are now. They fashioned the game plan and wrangled up a rider truck and, well, Skye, she saved those kids."

"How many are there?"

"Fifteen now, I believe. Skye came across a day care in town half a day in. Was surrounded by this hoard of them things," he pointed with his thumb outside, "She scaled the building next to it and zip lined to the daycare roof, managed to get them all out. Didn't lose a one. Story might have gotten a lil' grander in the passing but she saved 'em, plain and simple."

Ren spit in a can next to him with ease.

"Is that why she's like that?" Jackson sat back again finally realizing he was still covered in blood. Now dried along his collar, it made his clothes stiff and he could feel and hear them cracking against his skin.

"Like what? Stern, angry, about to blow?"

Jackson nodded. Renquist laughed again, harder. A laugh that shook the walls and rattled inside Jackson.

"No," Ren rubbed away a tear from his eye and grinned at him. "No the world at its end will do that to the strong. Rid 'em of emotions so they don't get in the way. I've know Skye since she moved to this God forsaken shithole. She was always strong, energetic and most importantly funny as hell. Witty, let me tell ya, and born to raise Cain. I'm glad she still thinks of me as family or I'd be dead, too.

"She's lost that spark, though, for a lot of reasons. Seen so many dead in only the span of a few days." He spit again.

Renquist's face lost that grin and became sullen as a cloud of memories shifted itself and laid claim to his eyes. Jackson could see it and knew he wasn't the only one who'd seen horror.

"We all lost those we loved." Jackson stated.

Ren looked to Jackson's face. "Who'd you lose, kid? A girlfriend who didn't want you? Friends who didn't care? Family that you don't think about?"

Jackson was silent. He didn't really know who he had lost and he'd not had the chance to stop and think about it at all, as Ren had pointed out.

"I lost my wife. Saw her trip and fall and then she disappeared into a nest of them." Ren's face was flat, "Max saw his family butchered by people wanting food from their house. The non-infected. Humans killing humans - Max put bullets in his little sister's head so she wouldn't come back. And Skye…You wonder why she is that way?

Renquist's tone wasn't hostile but obligatory like Jackson had to know or he wouldn't ever understand, "Skye has a sister, Jade, she watches the kids at the far end. They managed to escape their own mother from what I gather. Skye _had _to go back and take care of her. She couldn't stand knowing…Jade wasn't there when she went back, so the story goes. They've been trying to get to their father but he's gone too most definitely. Too far away to know for certain. Jade's fiancé is missing too. The kicker is some of Skye's friends thought they could escape out of town. Tried to load up their kids and go out into the desert. Skye kept telling 'em not to try, to stay with her where they could be safe. She drove out to stop them - late on the first night. Me and Max went with her.

His tone was quiet, "A semi had blindsided them and their car was knocked off the road. She thought maybe they were trapped, that she could do something." He sighed sadly, "The three year old was eating the parents, baby still strapped in the back trying to get out. Not alive mind you but one of them - started to lash out at the windows. Skye had to kill them both. Set the car on fire. She's alone, except for us and Jade, but that's not much as Jade blames Skye for their mother and don't talk to her much anymore."

Jackson was quiet. In two days, he realized, life had gone feral. He'd somehow slept through murder and mayhem and he's awoke a child. Skye had saved him and he realized, she didn't have to.

"So that is just a nutshell. Skyeler DeLuthe. Our leader of sorts, and she's right. Anyone of us would do the same as her to survive. You'd be smart to maybe apologize."

"How did I sleep through this?" Jackson asked.

"I think I would have preferred to sleep through it as opposed to being awake. Be glad. You're safe now." Renquist spat out the rest of his chew into his can and stood. "You got any specialty?"

"What?"

"Weapons, sports, anything that would prove useful?" he stretched.

"I played football in high school. Did some hunting."

"Might do. See ya around, kid." and with that he was out the door.

He left Jackson with a mile of thoughts running around his head. How had he missed all this? Who had he lost? Was Shelley alright? Would he have to kill someone he loved like Skye had? Skye.

He didn't know what he was doing but she had her head on her shoulders and knew what she was about: helping all these people survive. She was the brains for more than twenty people and he was a fool, a scared foolish idiot. He didn't want to live in this hell world or have to kill people he cared about, and he knew he couldn't lead anyone let alone himself. He needed Skye, but she didn't need him.

Apologize. She was protecting and leading and deep inside he assumes she was weaker, but he was the child.


End file.
